Arriving from one of the world's busiest cities where you're literally just a number.. and then being greeted at Fiji's main airport in Nadi at 5.30am by men donning skirts and flowers, playing a welcome song on guitar as I passed through immigration, was quite a culture change. "Bula!"
Nadi, in Viti Levu, on the main island isn't anything to write home about. The town is bustling, there's a lot of traffic, and the beach is a mucky looking brown colour.. not the paradise you'd expect to see in Fiji. However, the friendliness of the people and the hospitality they provide is on another level.. they are amazing!
I spent one night in and around the Bamboo Backpackers Hostel complex by the beach, enjoying a chilled night with two sound girls who I'd met on arrival.. Gwen from Wales, and Anna from England.
The three of us went our separate ways the following morning.. it was time for me to check out more of these Fijian islands. With 333 to choose from I was spoilt for choice. They're not cheap though, even the supposedly "low end" islands can be quite pricey.
With only being in Fiji for around a week I opted for a group of nearby islands called Mamanuca.. my first destination being Mana Island.
A tiny island-hopping speedboat named the Lagoon Flyer was the means of transport over to Mana.. and fly it did! It was a hell of a bumpy ride, I was hanging on for dear life, but then I'm not the most relaxed of passengers travelling over water.
In Fiji terms Mana is probably a medium-sized island. The white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and tall green palm trees come as standard, at either end are elevated areas of small forest.
The welcome couldn't have been warmer, greeted by song again. However, the hostel I stayed in wasn't the most luxurious, in fact you could liken it to a two-nights stay on an exotic building site there was so much redevelopment going on. Not what it said in the brochure!
I could complain about the deafening sound of the relentless daily chainsaw, perhaps the wires dangling down from the non-existent ceiling ready to clothesline anyone over 5ft tall, or the trip hazards that transformed the hostel into an assault course, oh.. and the large nail that Adam found in his bed (I kid you not!), but... I won't. Why? Because every now and again you come across an awesome group of people who just click with one another.. this is exactly what happened here.
There was four cracking Brits - Harry, James, Adam and Olivia. And then the soundest German lads I've ever met.. Pascal, Steffen and Florian.
The majority of my time was spent lying in the sun, listening to the sweet harmonic sounds of the chainsaw, and taking the piss out of everyone playing volleyball and distracting them as much as possible while I assumed my commentary position on the sideline.. "Harrrrrry's!"
I saw two incredible sunsets over the sea from different perspectives on the aptly named Sunset Beach - down by the waters edge on the first evening while two weddings were commencing, and from a lookout high up in the forest on the second.
The evenings produced some hilarious moments, sharing stories over drinking games, and generally taking the piss out of each other. The first evening saw representatives of each nation group together and sing their national anthem in front of everyone.. never done that before! It wasn't so bad for us English.. we were seven strong. Adam did a sterling job of belting out the Welsh anthem.. respect! As did the solo Japanese woman, who sounded like she'd gobbled a sack full of helium.. holding back the giggles was difficult!
The owners ramped up the entertainment the following evening.. yet the joke was on us. It was cross-dressing night! The majority of us got involved for a laugh as we all dipped into Olivia's backpack to find something fitting. I managed to squeeze into a size 6! Ha. Don't know how I managed that after almost 6 months of drinking.
Some weird Dutch lad stole the show looking suspiciously too comfortable while trotting around in a skimpy dress.
A campfire on the beach by the sea was a great touch using the wood we had collected during the day.
The Fijians have an obsession with drinking something called Kava, not to be mistaken with the cheap, sweet bubbles we drink back home. Made from the root of a locally grown crop, the Kava is served from a large communal bowl.. in this case, a frikkin washing up bowl. It looks like puddle water, it smells like puddle water, and it tastes like.... PUDDLE WATER!! It's supposed to be some sort of relaxant aswell as being a hallucinogenic. I drank a fair bit of the mucky stuff and the only thing it did for me was make my tongue go numb. Olivia, on the other hand had serious issues with remaining in her hammock! May have had something to do with the vodka too mind.
It was a sad farewell to this great bunch of people before I left on the Lagoon Flyer to another island, but happy to have had such a great time amidst the beachside construction site.
I made the short journey across the sea to the tiny Bounty Island where I was again greeted by a welcome song as I jumped off the Flyer.. this time just one fella and his guitar.
Bounty is a much nicer island, exactly what you'd expect, mirroring those picture perfect postcards you see. One resort covers the whole area and would only take you about 20 minutes to walk around its shoreline.
It was much more chilled out here.. very quiet and super relaxed days lying in the sun. I met more great people here too.. I shared a dorm with Graeme from Scotland, and Emily from the US who were studying in Nadi. We had a lovely dinner and a few drinks while playing cards, and the following afternoon I went snorkelling with them.. not usually my kind of thing but it was fun. Reef sharks are regulars around these parts and supposedly no harm to humans, but thankfully I didn't see any!
I spent my final evening with four Italian girls.. Guilia, Stella, Flavia and Rossella. I had previously met Guilia and Stella on the Lagoon Flyer a few days earlier so we had already been acquainted. They were a lot of fun, and we had a good booze up into the early hours.
It was hilarious to see the Fijians cook pasta for them, and seeing their disgust at what they had been served.. it did taste awful to be fair. Apparently, chicken with pasta isn't a thing in Italy, and every time it's eaten, one Italian will die! Haaa.
A farewell song, and a few other Fijian numbers after dinner where every staff member on the island gets involved to sing was a nice touch. They're so passionate about their culture that it resonates through the songs they were singing.
The following day around noon it was time for me to leave Bounty Island and head back to Nadi on the main island. As the Lagoon Flyer pulled up by the shore I was greeted by the friendliest of faces grinning from ear to ear while perched on the back of the boat.. "Alrigggght Graham!", it was Olivia!! Happy days :)
We arrived back in Nadi at the Bamboo Backpackers Hostel where we caught up and shared a jug of beer before she left for her flight.
I had a fantastic time in Fiji. The islands are beautiful, however, in my opinion they are nothing out of the ordinary. There are plenty to choose from, just same s*** different island. It's the great people I met, including the Fijians that made my time here.
I was supposed to leave on my flight to Auckland the following morning. I arrived at the airport to be told the flight had been overbooked by 10 people so they were looking for volunteers to give up their seats in return for compensation and a flight the next morning.
I sounded out their offer..
$30 for breakfast at the airport, 1 nights accommodation in a nice nearby hotel, $50 food credit, free transfers, upgrade to first class on the flight, upgrade to the first class lounge at the airport, and $350 in cash. "Ermm, let me think about that one for a second.. DEAL!"
My arrival in New Zealand may have been delayed but I spent a very luxurious day chilling out by the pool at the Tanoa Skylodge Hotel lapping up all my freebies.
Flight to Auckland in the morning, unless they fancy overbooking again!
Bula!! xx